Is that not nomex honeycomb? if not how does it compare to nomex?

Both Nomex and Kevlar are DuPont registered trademarks for slightly different versions of "Para-Aramide" fibres.

In some instances the manufacturers of the honeycomb call it "Kevlar-Honeycomb" in other "Nomex-Honeycomb" but they are basically all made from sheets of "aramide fiber paper"

 --- relatively short, randomly oriented fibres in some kind of phenolic resin binding agent.

So... yes... they're basically the same thing...

Aramide fibres are fire-proof ... hence the use of "Nomex" in fire-retardant racing clothing or gloves.


My testing setup was very simple ... (sorry never took any pictures, can't think why though)

I put the cored panel sample on a large piece of ground flat stainless steel, on the floor... then I
put a short piece cut of off round titanium bar (it was what was there at the right size  ) 7 mm in diameter on top of the sample, then another smaller piece of flat stainless. then added four pieces of soft foam rubber around for balancing and stepped up on the top stainless steel flat... That's rather close to 75 kg on that ~1 sq cm Ti bar...   

"Sapere Aude"... Dare to KNOW!

The written word is the only truly efficient vehicle for transmitting a complex concept from mind to mind...

103% of all people do not understand statistics...

Do not adjust our mind, theres a fault in reality :-)

wow that panel is certainly impresive!

i wonder how in practical terms you might mount something load bearing onto it? like if i wanted to attach a rope eye onto it and have the stress go through that? would it be best to just glue it on? Is there some way of working out how far you would have to spread the load? like how big the base of the eye would have to be ?

To add fixings to composites you generally need a way to spread the load and prevent "rip through".  For small fixings a common simple method is to bond on what is known as "big head" fasteners which is a plate with a captive nut or bit of stud on it.  You can bond and laminate them into place.

Another solution if you are bolting through a solid laminate is to use a load spreading plate on the other side of the laminate with captive nuts or studs on it. 

For cored panels generally you need an insert of some kind, be it aluminium or other metal or resin potted into a cut out void to help spread the load and avoid the fixing crushing the core.

Specifically for cored or honeycomb panels have a look on Hexcel.com at some of thier technology guides. Specifically this one: Sandwich panel technology is great for showing how to put fixings in cored panels as well as joining panels etc.

Warren Penalver
Easy Composites / Carbon Mods - Technical Support Assistant